Michael Steele/Getty ImagesWerknesh Kidane and her husband, Gebre Gebremariam, form one of Ethiopia's distance running power couples.Werknesh Kidane knows what success in a major marathon can mean to a career and a family. Last year, she received a phone call from her husband, Gebregziabher Gebremariam, shortly after he crossed the ING New York City Marathon finish line. He had just won.
Back home in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where the couple lives and trains together, Kidane had been watching the race live on television. Surrounded by family, but very far from her husband in Central Park, Kidane remembered the moment as "unbelievable." This year she will have her own chance to shine as she and Gebremariam line up on Sunday for one of the world's toughest marathon courses. But she is prepared.
Courtesy of Rachel WallackWerknesh Kidane met with reporters in New York on Friday."After he won last year, he told me many details about New York," said Kidane. "He's said it again and again." Kidane is a highly respected cross country and track runner, having won eight individual medals at the world cross country championships, more than any other woman in history. She's also a 2000 and 2004 Olympian (at 10,000 and 5,000 meters, respectively), and she posted one of the fastest times in history at 10,000 meters in the 2003 world championships, when she finished in 30:07.15.
In Ethiopia, Kidane and Gebremariam often run separately in the morning for the hardest run of the day, and if they do run together, the tough pace discounts any talking. "But in the afternoon or evening, we jog together, talk, and joke around," she said.
Although Kidane, now 29, had considered running New York in the past, this year everything came together. In January, she debuted at the marathon distance in Dubai. Then in Boston in April, she shaved a full minute off her time for a 2:26:15 seventh-place finish. When asked if she considers herself a marathoner instead of a cross country runner, she nods her head emphatically, saying "I am feeling confident with my road races and my marathon performances. I think I am here to stay."
Among her biggest inspirations, Kidane named compatriots Derartu Tulu and Gete Wami as well as British runner Paula Radcliffe. All have had successful marathon careers while raising a family. Since taking a break to have her two sons, Nathaniel, 5, and Muse, 4, Kidane has returned with a new spark and has taken to the roads here in the U.S. to prove her mettle.
On Sunday morning, the two little boys will be glued to the television set in Addis Ababa as their family gathers to watch the biggest race of their lives: Kidane and Gebremariam will take on the five boroughs of New York, the Central Park hills, and whatever else the 26.2-mile journey throws at them. On that day, they'll be focused on being marathoners.
After New York, they will return to Ethiopia to evaluate their plans for the 2012 Olympic Summer Games in London -- they each hope to earn a spot on Ethiopia's marathon team -- and they'll get their sons ready to run their first road race back home.
Rachel Wallack Cooperman is a New York City-based freelancer who enjoys running and eating ice cream (not at the same time) when she's not writing.
